Bloomberg Australian retail sales declined for the first time this year in October, suggesting that households are finally beginning to feel the strain of faster inflation and rising interest rates. Sales dropped 0.2% from September, confounding economists’ estimates for a 0.5% gain, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed on Monday. No one predicted a decline, with Commonwealth Bank ...

  Bloomberg EasyJet Plc and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc said they successfully tested a converted jet engine running on hydrogen for the first time, as the aviation industry takes steps to move to alternative fuels and reduce green-house emissions. The test was conducted with a converted Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional jet engine using hydrogen created by wind and tidal power, EasyJet said. ...

Bloomberg China’s economic activity slumped in November and could drop further in coming weeks as Covid outbreaks spread across the country and protests against tighter virus restrictions escalate. Bloomberg’s aggregate index of eight early indicators showed a likely contraction in activity in November from an already subdued pace in October. With Covid cases spreading rapidly in each of China’s provinces ...